MIAA, First Round, Division 2 Central East Girls Volleyball Tournament, Milton vs. Canton, played at Canton on Friday, November 4.
The volleyball tournament was finally here and Milton Head Coach Robin Lee has been grooming her Wildcats all season for this night. Coming into the match Milton was 10-10 and the number 14 seed. Their opponent was the number 3 seed Canton Bulldogs (15-3). The bleachers were full and the cheering was loud as both teams paced the floor waiting for the game to begin.
A good sign for the Wildcats was that middle hitter Samantha Curley was back in the lineup after re-injuring her shoulder a month ago. Still showing signs of her injury Curley was wearing a fitted brace, but looked fit and ready to play.
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The first game was all Canton as they took a commanding lead capitalizing on several missed shots by Milton. As the first game was winding down there was a sudden silence as Milton’s Katie Krauss slammed into one of the large stationary TV camera’s chasing the ball. Krauss was definitely shaken up, but her energy was high and refused to sit it out. Coach Lee could be seen trying to settle her team in as jitters were clearly affecting Milton’s game as Canton pulled ahead and won the first game 25-17.
Milton’s Ellie Taber was a force at the net and would make several kills during the second game, but Canton was on their game and would win it 25-11.
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The third game the Wildcats would take the lead at the start 3-0, but the Bulldogs would come back and started to pull ahead. Coach Lee would take a time out still trying to settle her team down. The Wildcats looking at elimination began to turn the game around catching up to Canton 21-20. With Canton leading 24-21 Milton battled back to 24-23 as the fans were rocking the gym. Canton would take the final game 25-23.
“Canton is a very good team and we knew we needed to stay with them. We didn’t play a very good first game and fell behind in the second one. The third game, I really thought we would win it, but I am really proud of this team - going as far as we did," said Coach Lee.
